Past tense of instigate
regular verb
The past tense of instigate is instigated. The past participle is also instigated.
Forms of instigate
| Base form (V1) | instigate /ˈɪnstəɡeɪt/ |
|---|---|
| Past tense (V2) | instigated |
| Past participle (V3) | instigated |
| Present participle | instigating |
| Third person singular | instigates |
Instigated in a sentence
- In light of growing outrage against Mecham, House special counsel William French instigated an investigation into the governor's affairs last fall.1988 February 14, Elizabeth Pincus, “Arizona Impeaches Right-Wing Governor”, in Gay Community News, volume 15, number 30, page 1
- We had the doubtful privilege of being spectators of two such raids, both instigated by girls.1966, Jonathan Aitken, Michael Beloff, A Short Walk on the Campus, page 104. From the entry pantie
- The furor instigated by the war in Vietnam was projected into fraternity bull sessions and Ballantine coffee breaks.1968, Arbutus, page 56. From the entry deathlock
- Continued upbowing instigated persistent movement along these fractures.1960, Edward Wisser, Relation of Ore Deposition to Doming in the North American Cordillera, page 45. From the entry upbow
- By unwittingly I mean not knowing that the whole program was controlled and dominated and instigated by the Communist Party.1955 June 27, Gordon H[arry] Scherer (questioner), “Testimony of Mrs. Anita Bell Schneider”, in Investigation of Communist Activities in…. From the entry unwittingly
Meaning of instigate
- verb To bring about by urging or encouraging.
- verb To goad or urge (a person) forward, especially to wicked actions.
Questions about the past tense of instigate
- What is the past tense of instigate?
- The past tense of instigate is instigated.
- What is the past participle of instigate?
- The past participle of instigate is instigated.
- Is instigate a regular or irregular verb?
- Instigate is a regular verb: its past tense adds -d.
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: instigate (page history and authors) and the entries of its forms. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws left out forms marked obsolete, archaic, rare or dialectal and added the examples. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “Past tense of instigate.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/past-tense/instigate. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.